Characterization of patients with severe trauma in an Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Introduction: severe trauma has a great impact on both health and economy in present-day society, with great incidence worldwide and in Cuba. Objective: to characterize patients with severe trauma admitted to the intensive care unit at Arnaldo Milián Castro Clinical Surgical Teaching Hospital during 2017. Methods: a descriptive, longitudinal and retrospective observational study was conducted in a population of 97 patients, working with all of them. Clinical records were reviewed; taken data to a database and analyzed in SSPS 21.0. Descriptive statistics was applied using absolute and relative percentage frequencies. Results: male patients (81,44 %) predominated, as well as the age group 35-44 years (37,11 %). Car accidents (57,73 %) and stabbing injuries (26,8 %) were found to be the main mechanisms of injury. Cranioencephalic (39,18 %) and thoracic traumas (21,65 %) prevailed. The most frequent complications were sepsis (23,71 %), nosocomial pneumonia (17,53 %) and hypovolemic shock (15,47 %); 70,1 % of the patients were discharged alive. Conclusions: male patients in the third decade of life are prone to suffer trauma; mainly caused by car accidents. Cranioencephalic and thoracic traumas are common injuries in these patients. Sepsis and pneumonia associated with mechanical ventilation were frequent complications.

Keywords

• heridas y traumatismos
• traumatismo múltiple
• urgencias médicas
• unidades de cuidados intensivos